Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Podcast Central

Home
Evangelical - Sponsored
E3 Partners Expedition Podcast 19: God Triumphs over Satan in Cuba & Reaches the Elderly in India

E3 Partners Expedition Podcast 19: God Triumphs over Satan in Cuba & Reaches the Elderly in India

Last updated on: December 17, 2014 at 11:41 am by Christian Podcast Central

E3 Partners Expedition Podcast 19: God Triumphs over Satan in Cuba & Reaches the Elderly in India 2014-12-17T11:41:39-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

E3 Partners Expedition Podcast 19: God Triumphs over Satan in Cuba & Reaches the Elderly in India Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Every week, we share stories about the amazing ways God is at work around the world. We hope that you’ll be encouraged by these stories and inspired to greater involvement in God’s Great Commission to go out to the world – near and far – and train, instruct, and baptize people in Jesus’ Name. This week, we start with Carl Crawford who took a team to Cuba:

Probably the most significant experience was when we learned from a local pastor that he was struggling to get this little church started. It seemed that every time that he led somebody to Christ, they would stop coming back to church after a month or two. The church just seemed to be faltering.

It made me ask, “Why?”

The Cuban pastor then told us that right around the corner was a “House of Satan”, or a “Santeria” or “Santa Barbara” house of voodoo. He believed that the demonic activities there were overpowering the neighborhood.

I was immediately filled with conviction and made plans for the very next day for our team to pray walk the entire area and see what God does.

So, we got up the next morning, and nothing was going right. Everything seemed to be working against us, logistically: the food was late, the translators were late, and I was simply vexed.

Now, this village was notorious for prostitution taking place throughout its streets, along with alcohol and drug abuse and Satanic worship activities.

We eventually got to the village and walked toward the Satanic worship center, when we saw a pair of police officers inside. Not wanting to get into an altercation with local police, we walked away and prayed more at a different location.

When we returned later on, I was reminded of the story in the Bible of Jonathan and his armor bearer. They were heading up to the Philistine garrison that was on a hilltop, strategically position to guard that area. So, Jonathan prayed, “Lord, if you have given this victory into our hands, then have them invite us up.” That would show that the Philistines were not afraid of Jonathan and that they wouldn’t come down the hill to attack. As the story goes, Jonathan was invited up and he and his armor bearer went up there and slew the entire garrison.

So, I prayed like Jonathan: “Lord, if you have taken this house today, would you have them invite us in to talk with them?”

So, we walked up to the front gate, and sure enough, they invited us up to talk with them on the front porch of the Satanic worship center. We learned that the head guy there was a man named Lazaro. We then asked him if he knew the story from the Bible about his namesake, Lazarus. He didn’t.

So, we told Lazaro the story about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

He was engaged and locked in, so I went on to tell him my own story about what Jesus has done in my life, particularly where it comes to control and allowing Him to be Lord of my life.

This peaked his interest to the point of inviting us to come inside and sit down. Now, to be honest, I hesitated at first because as I looked inside, I saw idols, pornography, all sorts of evil things… and a cup of blood.

I honestly didn’t know if I had the nerve to walk in there!

I drew courage from my answered prayers and the knowledge that God was in control. We sat and talked with several of the leaders of the worship center, including Lazaro and his wife. By the end of our discussion, three of the men there and Lazaro’s wife prayed to accept Jesus as their Savior.

Meanwhile, I noticed Lazaro’s personal struggle, and I continually prayed for him. A member of our team took him aside, privately on the porch, and further discussed who Jesus is and His plan for our lives, and Lazaro right then and there prayed and accepted Christ!

As John 8:36 says: If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

And we physically saw the burden of oppression lifted from these people as they were set free by Christ.

This is another exciting story of seeing God’s power at work in this little village outside of Havana, Cuba. God had given Carl an impression that He was going to take that house that day for Him. And Carl had to walk in faith and believe in God’s promises, no matter how things appeared or how scared Carl became.

As 1 John 4:4 says: Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

The Lord often calls us out of our comfort zones when we are on these trips and we are called to do things that we don’t necessarily want to do, but Got uses these things tremendously for His glory!

Next we hear from Dan Watson, as he reflects on how he saw God work among an unreached people group on northeast India:

When we first started working with the people of Silchar, India, hardly anyone in the region had ever even heard the name Jesus Christ. But, the results of our last trip were phenomenal: we saw 300 professions of faith, 100 people seeking more about Jesus, and we have a couple local men who are committed to follow up ministry with the people of Silchar for the next year. We anticipate that three new churches will come out of this. That means that if the Lord does what we think He’s going to do, the number of known believers in this people group will have quadrupled, and the number of churches in the region will have doubled!

On the last day that we were there, I had the opportunity to sit down with a 78-year-old woman and share the gospel with her. She reminded me of Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies – very alert, very active, very animated and spritely. So I shared the Gospel with her, and she gave the same song and dance that I had heard hundreds of times before: well, we already have our gods… we don’t need Jesus… etc.

So, she didn’t accept Jesus at that moment, but as I got up to leave, she stopped me and told me that her mother was in the next room and I should speak to her. But her mother was 97-years-old and in a coma.

Obeying God’s call on me to be bold and prayerful, I knelt down beside her bed, placed my hands on her tiny little head and begged God that He would see to it that she would not pass away without having an opportunity to hear the Gospel.

Now, I have no idea of what the result of that particular encounter will be, but I rejoice that His plans will be fulfilled and His will will be done!

For more engaging and encouraging podcasts and videos, visit the E-Squared Media Network at www.e2medianetwork.com.

Uncategorized

christian missions podcast

Christian Missions to Muslims

Previous Post

December 17, 2014

Blending Your StepFamily : Unfairness in Parenting

Next Post

December 17, 2014 Real Stuff My Dad Says 67: Cleanest Dirt Floor Ever!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Brad Stine Has Issues Christian Podcast Central Classic Podcast Experience God Life Grounded Ouxano Parent Like You Mean It The Protest Show with Thor Ramsey The Summit Lecture Series Uncategorized What You’ve Been Searching For

Select a Month July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz